


Sapphire Sword

by aggiepuff



Series: Rubies & Sapphires [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brienne is ride or die for her sister, Brienne of Tarth is the Best, F/M, Lady Olenna lives, Lily is Bastard Brave, Lily is a mercenary of sorts, Lily is ride or die for her sister, Loras Lives, Sisters before Misters (or little anyone else), Tarth Sisters, The Tyrells Live, margaery lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:28:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21654796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aggiepuff/pseuds/aggiepuff
Summary: Lilyanna Saffyre is not Bastard Brave. She's Bastard Smart.When Brienne asked she guard Lord Renly Baratheon's new bride, the Lady Margaery Tyrell, Lily agreed. When would-be-King Renly was murdered and Brienne blamed, Lily did not stay to see where the blame might fall when her older half-sister escaped. Still. She made a promise to her sister and Lily was never one to break a promise to Brienne. It just might take a little time for her to follow through. The purse full of dragons from another interested party didn't hurt either.
Relationships: Brienne & OC
Series: Rubies & Sapphires [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561162
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For those who are interested, this runs parallel to my other Game of Thrones fic "Sand Dragon" and they might eventually intertwine in some places. Hope you enjoy!

She slipped into the Red Keep, roughspun scarf covering her head. The air was subdued, a tense silence hanging over the city like a shroud. The hair on the back of her neck stood on edge and her insides quivered. The bated breath of the city as the populous waited for the guillotine to fall was held even tighter here within the castle walls.

As quickly as she could, she removed the undyed cloak that was her peasant’s disguise, rolling it into a ball and shoving it into a deep shadow behind one of the great dragon heads. Beneath her cloak, her dress was high quality but plain. A handmaid's dress of pale blue, no ornamental stitchwork or decorative filigree like the woman who would be her mistress wore.

She shook out her skirts, hands passing over the flat knives strapped to her thighs, then wove through the cavernous catacombs beneath the Red Keep. She emerged in a deserted corridor, only a few turns over from the queen’s chambers. 

She folded her hands demurely before her and walked, unhurried, to the solid oak door. When she knocked, another lady’s maid opened the door. A tall, uncompromising woman with small brown eyes and mouse brown hair, dressed in a severe, shapeless gown. 

“I was told her Majesty called for me?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Her Majesty didn’t-”

“Let her in, Hylda,” A clear voice called from the room.

The imposing Hylda’s eyes narrowed but she stepped aside.

The queen’s suite was a far cry from what she expected. The room had been stripped of lavish ornaments. The only luxury was the bedding and the costly paper on the queen’s desk, where she sat.

Queen Margaery Tyrell was beautiful as always, but the beautiful clothes she loved were replaced by high collars and muted colors. Pretty and high quality but not daring or lively. The queen’s eyes only widened slightly upon seeing her. “I thought I heard you, Lily,” she said without missing a step. 

Lily, born Lilyanna Saffyre, bastard daughter of Lord Selwyn Tarth, curtseyed to the woman her sister asked she protect. Lily was not a proud woman, a bastard couldn’t afford to be, even with so loving and doting a father as Lord Selwyn, and she felt no shame in fleeing when Renly Baratheon was murdered. She was brought up alongside her true-born sister and held to the same standards, but she saw more of the world than Brienne, heard more, and learned more. Still, when Brienne asked a favor, Lily answered, always. It was just that sometimes it took a while. 

The heavy bag of gold dragons hidden in her pack didn’t hurt.

Lily looked up at Lady Margaery from lowered lashes, willing the younger woman to go along. "You summoned me, your Grace?"

Lady Margaery smiled, small but still there, blue eyes sharp. "Yes," she said, "I suppose I did. Come," she stood, "walk with me."

She strolled to the balcony of her chambers. Lily followed two steps behind, as was proper, until they stood overlooking the Queen's Garden, a small, beautiful garden in an inner courtyard. From what Lily remembered of the Keep's plans, the garden was only accessible by the curving stairs carved into the wall leading up to the Queen's chambers. It was meant as a private haven for the Queen. Lily thought it rather stupid. There was a small landing halfway up those curving stone steps, a gardener's entrance. It would be all too easy for an assassin to slip in unseen and the work of a pair of working legs to come up those steps and murder the Queen in her bed.

For several long moments Lady Margaery said nothing, then, "I called you to discuss what is to become of my clothes, those that I no longer require. I will be selling them, of course, but you have always been most devoted to The Light. I want you to ensure the proceeds go where the High Sparrow thinks they will do the most good."

She was to watch the High Sparrow, then. Excellent. He was dangerous; he needed watching. Lily curtseyed. "Very good, your Grace."

"And I want you to see if the good Queen Mother has anything she wishes to donate as well."

Lily didn't blink but her insides twisted. She had watched Cersei Lannister's Walk of Atonement. She saw how the crowd ripped into the Lioness. And she saw the gleam in Cersei's green eyes. The Lioness was Mad. It had taken a while to ignite, but now there was flame. Lily remembered the only time she ever saw wildfyre. It had burned a man alive, leaving only his blackened bones. The Madness in Cersei was like that. It would burn her alive, and possibly anything she touched, too.


	2. Chapter 2

It came as these things often do in King's Landing: on the wings of begging little birds.

She noticed them first when Margaery sent her to bring foodstuffs to the poorest of Flea Bottom. Lily listened to the people's whispers, heard them singing the praises of the High Sparrow, but she also saw the children. Dirty, ragged children listening with sharp eyes, their quick, clever hands firmly at their sides. 

She frowned at them. Street children should be learning the ways of thieves, picking the pockets of the unsuspecting, not listening to adults talk with such rapt attention, as if they knew they would be required to repeat it all back as a teacher might expect them to remember their lessons. 

As she was walking back to the Red Keep she passed the hidden entrance she used to the spider's web of catacombs below King's Landing. A child, no older than six or seven, loitered near the concealed stone door. Lily stopped, tucking herself between two carts, watching. The child - it was difficult to tell girl or boy with so much grime - glanced about then slipped through the entrance.

_So much for secret doors_. Lily's frown deepened. _Who told the child of this entrance?_

As far as Lily knew, only a handful or people knew of that particular entrance. Her employer was one, the Spider was another.

_The Spider…little birds…_

She should not be so surprised. Didn't she know from experience that children were often overlooked or discounted simply for being children? Of course the Spider used street urchins to learn the secrets of the city. _And now that Maester uses them, too._

The next time Lily went to Flea Bottom with Margaery's offering, she paid special attention to the children. She gave them a little extra, teased them, made them laugh, asked them questions of their lives. She asked them to tell her stories of their world, listened intently. Over and over, every time she went to Flea Bottom she listened and laughed with the children.

Then, one day, a little gixie came running to her, colorfully frosted cake clutched in her grimy hand. “Lily! Lily!” she cried. “Look what I have!”

“What do you have there, little one?” Lily laughed, hoisting the filthy child onto her hip.

The little girl held up her cake. “The Maester gave it to me. But shhh, don’t tell anyone.”

“I wont,” Lily whispered seriously even as her gut twisted. A cake was a special treat. “It looks delicious. Why did he give it to you?”

The little girl leaned in, face serious. Lily thought her name might be Ollie, but she couldn’t quite remember. “The Maester gave it to me because he has a special job for me and Raida and Alf.”

“What special job?”

A gleam entered Ollie’s dark eyes. “Tomorrow afternoon, when everyone is at the big fancy meeting we’re supposed to go into the tunnels and set these green bottles on fire!”

Icy fear crawled down Lily’s spine. _Green bottles on fire_. “You, little one,” she said, forcing her voice not to shake, “are a pyromaniac.”

“A py-pyro-what?”

“You like setting things on fire.”

Ollie grinned. “Yeah!” She stuffed her cake into her mouth, icing smearing across her face. 

“Listen, little Ollie,” Lily said softly. “I need you to understand something very, very important. Can you do that for me?”

Ollie blinked at her. “What is it?”

“I need you to _not_ set the green bottles on fire. Can you do that for me?”

“But, the Maester gave me cake.”

“I know, little one, but it is very important that you stay here, in Flea Bottom, tomorrow and _not_ go where the man told you to go.”

“But-”

“It is very, very important, okay?”

Ollie frowned but nodded. “Okay.”

Lily smiled but did not believing for a moment the child would obey. “Good. And tomorrow, if you do not go where the Maester said, I will bring you a special treat.”

Ollie cheered and Lily set the girl back on the ground, watching as she scampered off up the street.


	3. Chapter 3

It was time to move. Leaving the Red Keep and King's Landing was always the plan. She had hoped for a little more time to put the final details into place, but now that was impossible. Instead, she would have to make do with what was already done and hope it was enough to ferry the golden roses to safety and freedom.

She stole the first Rose in the night, as the stars glittered in the velvet sky and the streetlights had long been extinguished. She left a filthy beggar man in his place, wearing his rags, grime rubbed into his pale skin and hair, rendering him unrecognizable. The wilted Rose she hid in the catacombs beneath the city, far from prying eyes, left him with food and water rations but chained him to the wall.

As the personal handmaiden to the queen, Lily slept in a small room no bigger than a closet off the queen’s bedchamber. She returned there in the early hours of the morning and began her preparations. She had stolen gold dragons over the weeks she was here and now she gathered them into a single pack, along with two changes of clothes, two travel cloaks, and other necessary travel gear. 

The servants’ passages were always left unchecked, stupid but useful. She ferried her travel packs to the place where the wilted Rose lay before returning to her bed and sleeping as best she could. 

In the morning, Lily readied the queen in one of her severely plain dresses and fixed her small antler diadem into her long hair. “Your Grace,” she whispered as she bent, pretending to straighten Margaery’s crown, “do you trust me?”

Margaery’s blue eyes flashed but her face remained impassive. The Septa stood waiting by the door, not paying them any mind. Margaery cast her a quick glance before meeting Lily’s eyes in the mirror. She nodded.

“Stay close to me today, your Grace. Whatever else happens, stay close to me.”

Margaery swallowed. Lily waited. 

Finally, the younger girl nodded.

Lily stepped away, saying normally, “You’re ready, your Grace.”

Margaery inclined her head. “You do excellent work, Lilyanna.”

Lily bobbed a quick curtsy. “It is my pleasure, your Grace.”

Margaery stood, sweeping across the queen’s chambers to the door. “Come, we do not want to be late.”

Lily followed the queen through the palace, ignoring the stern Septa’s disapproving look beside her. The Septa was not pleased that Lily had joined Margaery’s household as her personal handmaiden. She believed the Septas were enough to look after the queen. Thankfully, Margaery was a superb manipulator, spinning a tale of Lily’s piety and desire to serve that the Septas accepted with only slight muttering.

Lily wasn’t concerned with their mutterings, only that they did not attempt to stop her from accompanying Margaery into the Sept of Baelor. 

The High Sparrow or whatever the zealot was calling himself, waited for the court in the Sept. Lily watched him, stuffing her disgust in a far away place so it would not show on her face. He was a revolting man, least of all for his desire to punish any who did not conform to his narrow ideology. 

Margaery surveyed the crowd, frowning. “There’s something wrong.”

“You have nothing to fear, your Grace,” the High Sparrow said in what he must have thought was a comforting way. “Followers of The Faith have gone to fetch your brother. The trial will begin shortly.”

Margaery scowled at him, blue eyes flashing dangerously. “Cersei is not here," she said. "Tommen is not here. Why do you think they are not here?”

“If the accused is not here,” the High Sparrow replied, “she will be tried regardless. We cannot escape the justice of the gods.”

“Forget about the bloody gods and listen to what I'm telling you,” Margaery snarled, voice low and dangerous. “Cersei understands the consequences of her absence and she is absent anyway, which means she does not intend to suffer those consequences. The trial can wait. We all need to leave.”

Around them the crowd’s quiet mutterings grew louder, taking a panicked edge as Margaery’s words struck. Those at the back made for the doors, voices rising in shock and fear when they found them barred. 

Lily wrapped her hand around Margaery’s wrist, pulling the queen back as the court surged.  She whirled on Lily desperately, “We need to-”

“I  _ know _ , your Grace,” Lily snapped, pulling Margaery through the crowd to the shadows behind a massive plinth. She pressed her hand to the fifth stone from the floor in the wall. A door barely big enough for one person to slip through opened. Lily grabbed Margaery by the shoulders and shoved her through. 

Behind her the Sept was a mess, courtiers trying to shove at the great wooden doors. Lily cast one look over her shoulder. The only Tyrell left in the Sept was Mace Tyrell and he was too far for her to reach. Lily’s gut twisted but there was nothing she could do. To go after him was to risk Margaery’s life and that was something she would not do.

Lily followed Margaery into the secret passage, shoving the stone door closed behind her. A lamp glowed on the floor just inside and she snatched it up, blinking to let her eyes adjust. 

Margaery stood a few steps from her, looking around. “What-?’

Lily grabbed Margaery’s bicep and began to run. She could not imagine whatever Cersei’s plan would take too long to start. It was best they be as far from the Sept as they could manage. 

Margaery tripped and stumbled, following as best as her court gown would allow. Then, suddenly, a great, distant roar began behind them. Lily chanced a glance over her shoulder.

Green light flickered just out of sight around a distant corner, growing ever brighter. Fear gripped her heart with icy claws. “RUN!”

Wildfire chased them through the catacombs beneath King’s Landing. Dirt and rock fell from the ceiling and still they ran. The quiet, seperate part of Lily that remained calm even as her life swung precariously in the balance directed her, telling her where to turn, which path to take. 

Finally, as Lily's lungs burned and her legs ached, death's roar faded and Lily turned down the passage where the other Rose lay, curled on his side, iron shackles glinting dully from the lamp by his head.

"Loras!" Margaery cried, surging forward to throw her arms about her brother. "You're here! You're alive!"

Lily turned from their reunion, making for the packs against the opposite wall. She pulled out the two sets of clothes - leggings, shirts, jackets, overskirts, socks and boots - all of it the heavy wool stuff made in the North, perfect for surviving the wilderness of the countryside. She began to change, pulling the plain court gown over her head, leaving her only in her underthings. The air in the underground passage was cold and damp. She quickly pulled on the traveling clothes, fastening her knives at her wrists, waist, legs, and small of her back.

Weapons settled, she took the second set of travel clothes and turned to the Tyrells, holding them out to Margaery. "Change into this," she ordered.

Margaery blinked up at her, blue eyes overbright. "You saved us," she said softly. "How can we ever-"

"You can change your clothes," Lily interrupted. "We need to be as far from King's Landing as may be before nightfall."

Margaery puffed up indignantly. "I am the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms," she started but Lily laughed harshly.

"Bullshit," she told her. "You're the Queen of exactly fuck all. Cersei Lannister as good as murdered you just now, along with any who might support you. Your best chance of survival is to get as far from this snakepit city as possible. Now," Lily sneered, "get dressed, your Grace, for we have a long way to go and daylight is waning."

Margaery licked her lips but she could not argue. Instead she stood and turned, allowing Lily to undo the laces at the back of her dress, and changed into the roughspun clothes, leaving her court finery in the muck of the stone passage to be eaten by the rats. Lily shoved a pair of sturdy boots at her with woolen socks before turning to Loras. The key to the Flower Knight's manacles was around her neck and she pulled it from beneath her shirt as she kneeled down next to the boy.

He was handsome, she thought idly as she turned the key in the lock, or he might have been, at one time. His cheeks were hollow, blue eyes gaunt. His beauty always struck her as feminine, but some women preferred that. Personally, Lily had a taste for the brawny, rugged sort. 

Lily left the key and the manacles on the floor, pulling Loras to his feet. She had already forced him to change into travel clothes when she first brought him here and she was grateful he was in enough of his right mind to use the wooden bucket that was a makeshift chamberpot beside his temporary mattress. Not trusting him to stand on his own, Lily pushed the boy towards his sister. "Help him," she ordered as Margaery caught him.

While Margaery settled Loras' arm across her shoulders and wrapped her arms around his torso, Lily shouldered the packs she had brought. They were heavy, to be sure, but thankfully she would not be carrying them far. Moving carefully, she handed one of the lamps to Margaery and lifted the other herself, casting the light ahead of her.

"Let's go," she said and began to walk.


End file.
